This isn’t my usual book. The premise intrigued me and I wanted to read it. The writing style was good and I would recommend the book to others.

With an opening line like “Let’s be honest: Who hasn’t fantasized about shooting someone in the face with a hunting rifle?”, a reader suffering from the odd bout of disenchantment just might have their curiosity peaked!
This story begins with a thirteen-year-old girl who plans on startling a classmate. Instead, she accidently kills him. And she likes it.
As the years go by, she begins experimenting with murder. Choosing victims who have proven themselves worthy of such a fate. The anonymous narrator’s vocation draws the reader down some very provocative paths as she leads her life of vengeance.
While the plot may appall you, the true horror of this book is in the author’s unwavering ability to sway you to the protagonist’s side.
My only complaint here is the shortness of the book. Having additional pages to lay out further intricate plotting as well as more descriptive gore would have ensured an indelible visceral experience for the reader.

This should've been my sort of story but yet the way it was written I didn't quite like it that much at all. Sadly, I had to pass.

Unable to read and review by publication date due to other commitments, Will update immediately upon completion. Thank you NetGalley and Publisher,

The book is like winding road. I wasn’t sure where I was going to end up, but I liked it. So well written. However, the book is t what I thought it would be like from the description, which may turn some people off.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

“It takes a stroke of luck to find your vocation. I might have spent my whole life searching. Hare Krishna? Hairdressing? Water polo? But the universe blessed me with a taste of the perfect crime.”—from Of Vengeance.

Welcome to the mind of an unnamed sociopath, who is also a thirteen-year-old Canadian girl. Beginning with a prank gone wrong, the unnamed narrator grows into a woman as her misanthropy and killing skills also grow. She judges her neighbors for minor wrongs. Don’t scoop up your dog’s poo? Congrats, you’re on her radar. As she herself states, “when I seek vengeance, it’s rarely for a crime against my own person.” She sees herself as a righter of wrongs.

I loved the narrator’s voice. You could feel her disassociation from society clearly through her words. She is an invisible wraith sleepwalking through her regular life while relishing her role as a vigilante. That makes her fascinating, but not very relatable to most readers. However, the disappointing conclusion of the book makes Of Vengeance a three-star read for me.

Thanks to Dundum Press and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

She starts by telling the reader that she sees a cold-blooded killer every day .. just by looking in the mirror.

Starting when she was young child of 12 years, she found a way of dealing with people she has targeted as problematic.... and she's' very inventive. She hones her craft of killing so that no one would ever look at her and suspect that she has a black heart.

This author's debut novel is a short read ... less than 200 pages, and translated from the French.

The book is told entirely in the killer's voice. It was like sitting down with someone over a cup of coffee and them telling me their entire life story. I did not find it enjoyable at all. Maybe it was just the translation didn't cross over for me. I found myself skipping pages just to get to the end. I wish I could have liked it.

Thanks to the author / Dundurn Press / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Sorry but I can't get behind this one. It's well written to be sure and explores interesting territory- a teen female killer- but it just wasn't for me. Thanks to the publisher for the arc. Others might find intriguing.

Thank you to Dundurn Publishers and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a dark and disturbing read, particularly because it was written as one long inner monologue, with an almost child-like tone. Maybe not so surprising, because our protagonist began her auspicious career dispatching people she found disagreeable at the tender age of 12 years old (that first episode was actually accidental death, not intended on her part) and found it suited her, so carried on into young adulthood (which is when the story ends).

This novella is well-written and gives us a look into the protagonist's thought processes - and I have to admit, her musings on life, humanity and the world around us were oddly gripping, although I could never be as dispassionate and at a remove from it all as she seems to be. I would love to read more from this author!

I just could not get into this book. I was so excited because the cover really drew me in but I just couldn't connect with the story or the characters.

This book is written as an entire long monologue, and that's OK. The language is a little stilted, but that suits the story. What I don't like are the jumps in time, which really aren't necessary.

This is the first book I read from this author and although it’s suppose to be a suspense I just could not get into the story. It did not hold my attention. I think there is potential there it just neeeds some work.

I was provided this book free of charge for my honest opinion.
I give this a 2 star ⭐️⭐️

I was simply bored beyond belief by this protagonist. There was nothing interesting about her. Maybe this was just too juvenile a character for me to connect to. A long dull monologue. And it's not the subject matter—just the character. It feels more like she's trying to be something she's not. | Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy. My opinion is my own.

I'm sadly going to have to DNF this book. I've tried multiple times to sit and read however I'm really not engaging with the story or the character and I find myself becoming more and more frustrated the more I push myself to read.

This short novella reads more like a monologue than a novel. I wished there had been more development for the narrator. It's a quick read but if you're looking for a thriller, then you may feel unsatisfied after reading this novella.

I should have loved this book. Horror and thrillers are my favorite genres. I like true crime. I enjoyed the Dexter series (books and show). But I just couldn’t get into Of Vengeance. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t even bring myself to finish this very short book. And I’m breaking my rule about not posting a review for unfinished books (I did make it halfway) because this one is so problematic.

My problems with the book have nothing to do with the narrator’s choice of hobbies. I’m not squeamish. And I almost gave this book 2 stars instead of 1 because it includes environmental commentary and the author does have talent. But I absolutely hated the main character.

Yes, I know that some of her awful thoughts were there to show us her psychopathic mind. But Dexter accomplished this same thing without being full of fat shaming, racism, and ableist comments.

I mean, does the author really think that babies are only switched accidentally in Latin American hospitals? Or that all bad guys are dark-skinned? And that reality shows about autism and Down’s syndrome would be humorous fodder for the lowest common denominator?

The note in the front of the book said readers would be rooting for the narrator on page 10. Despite being a victim of bullying during childhood, I still found nothing to cheer for when the bully was taken out. The narrator’s take on him was just too cruel to support, and it made me wonder who was really the bully.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion. And to the author, I’m sorry. I know how much it sucks to get a negative review. I hope to encounter a future book of yours that showcases your writing talent instead of problematic content.

Written in a very straightforward, almost childlike tone. The matter-of-fact contrasts with the dark nature of the vengeance the narrator carries out. Many of the observations regarding human nature are spot-on and often humorous, but I could really find any reason why this book should be written or read..

The darkest of the dark a tense chilling thriller that I could not put down,#netgalley #dubderenboojs

This is a peculiar tale about a young girl/woman who gets her kicks out of exacting retribution on those she thinks deserve it. It starts with what was meant as a prank. She throws a rock at a schoolmate who is defecating by a river. The rock startles him and he falls in the river and drowns. But this is merely the beginning of series of acts of retribution which become more serious as the story progresses. She sees people indulging in acts that she deems inappropriate or harmful to others and she decides to punish them in subtle ways which culminate in an act of murder.

What is most interesting about this novel is not the plot per se but the artful way the story unfolds under the skillful brush of the author..

This novel was provided to me as by Dundurn as an ARC via NetGalley

Set in contemporary Quebec and translated from its original French, OF VENGEANCE is the narration of a psychologically skewed protagonist, a woman who dislikes humans and prefers animals, who exemplifies nondescriptness to an art form, whose greatest power is invisibility--and who is a self-proclaimed vigilante for justice. We may not agree with her viewpoint; but it is certain that she is rare among contemporary humans: an individual who knows her life purpose and endeavours to fulfill it.